In November 2012, Chris Turner was elected to serve the people of District 101 in the Texas House of Representatives.

Located entirely in Tarrant County, the rapidly growing and diverse District 101 includes major portions of Arlington and Grand Prairie. The district also includes Arlington and Mansfield Independent School Districts. Major employers in the area include the local school districts ...

Longtime elected officials would no longer be able to use an obscure perk to boost their take home pay under a bill that sailed out of a House committee Monday. The proposed double-dipping ban now heads to the House floor.

Efforts to ban longtime politicians from double-dipping their salaries and their pensions — as former Gov. Rick Perry started doing in 2011 — went nowhere two years ago. But this year the idea is picking up steam.

Texas and the 33 other states that refused to set up their own insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are especially vulnerable to an impending U.S. Supreme Court decision. A victory for Obamacare foes could upset the state's entire health insurance market.

On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, I talked with host Jason Whitely and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy about the latest UT/Texas Tribune poll, Eric Cantor, the GOP state platform, and more.

Efforts to ban double dipping by longtime politicians went nowhere in the last legislative session. That could change now that the two leading candidates for governor have expressed support for banning the controversial practice.

The Longhorns and Sooners won't be the only ones looking for a win this weekend in Dallas. More than 30 Texas legislators are hoping to turn the Red River Rivalry game into campaign cash. Fundraising around the rivalry game is a growing trend that attracts legislators from around the state.

In the span of a few minutes, the Texas House of Representatives on Monday gave the green light to pension increases for state elected officials and then watched the effort to ban double dipping by politicians crash and burn without a vote.

An effort to ban "double dipping" by elected officials, a practice brought to light during Gov. Rick Perry's run for president, has gone on life support. A stand-alone bill died in committee Monday night, but the sponsor is looking for ways to tack the provision on to other legislation.

The obscure law that allows Gov. Rick Perry to collect both his pension and salary was the subject of a hearing Monday. A proposed bill would prevent future state officeholders from using the provision.

Terrysa Guerra isn’t waiting for the right time to come along to help turn Texas blue. She’s tired of waiting, she said, and even more tired of her fellow Democrats biding their time. After successfully leading the campaigns for two state senators and a state representative, the unassuming strategist has emerged as a secret weapon for her party.

Ethics reformers are looking to overhaul the personal financial statements state lawmakers must file. The form doesn’t ask for much detail, hasn’t been updated in years and has led to confusion and varying interpretations about what must be revealed.

State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, says he’s found the perfect way for elected officials to put their money where there mouths are when it comes to exercising fiscal restraint: ban "double-dipping" by politicians.